Improvement in paper-folding machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

L. 0. IBUPFINGTON. Paper-Folding Machine.

Patented July 29,1879.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

MFEIERS PHCTO-LITHQGRAFHEFL WASHINGTON, D C.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2, L. O. BUFPINGTON.

Paper-Folding Machine.

'No. 217,857. Patented Jul INVENTOR:

ATTURNEYS.

PETERS. FHOTDVLH'HOGRAQHER, WASHINGTON, D c.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

L. 0; BUPPINGTON. Paper-Folding Machine.

Patented July 29,1879.

WITNESSES ATTORNEYS.

" PErERs, PHOTOilTHOGRAPrIER. wAsHmsmN. D C.

' tion.

UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS O. BUFFINGTON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF ANDCHARLES B. MURRAY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-FOLDING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 217,857, dated July 29,1879; application filed March 5, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwrs CASS BUFFING- TON, of Cincinnati, in thecounty of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and ImprovedPaper-Folding Machine, of which the following is a specification. V

The object of this invention is a machine to make one or more folds insheets of different sizes, and deliver the folded sheets in a convenientform.

My machine is also adapted to be fed by hand or to be attached to thedelivery end of a printing-press and fed by it.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description ofthe accompanying drawings, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig.3 is an epd eleva- Fig. 4. is a detail view of one of .thecylinder-heads. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of cylinder and rollersfor completing the first fold, taken in line 00 ac, Fig. 2, looking inthe direction of the cylinder head opposite to the one shown in Fig. 4.Fig. 6 is a detail view of the eccentric and cross-head for operatingthe packer. Fig. 7 is a detail view of part of the machine, showing theadjustable pin for operating the cams of the nipper-shaft andfolding-blade.

In the different figures similar letters of reference indicate likeparts.

Referring to the parts, Ais the frame of the machine, and B a cylindermounted upon shaft (J, its two heads being keyed to the shaft and theshaft journaled in suitable bearings at the front end of the machine.

In the shell of the cylinder are four circumferential slots, a,thr0ughwhich a similar number of nippers, s, are adjustable within said slotsby means of a nipper-frame journaled upon shaft 0 within cylinder B.

The nipper-frame consists of two arms, 0 0 journaled upon shaft 0 nearthe cylinder-heads m said arms being united rigidly by a bar, 19, and anipper-shaft, r, journaled in the outer ends of these arms.

The nipper-shaft has rigidly secured to it the nippers s, and cams u andj upon its opposite ends out-side of the cylinder-heads, the

shaft 1" projecting through circn inferen tial slots in said heads forthis purpose. The bar 1) has serrated or milled projections q extendingthrough slots at to the periphery of the cylinder, forming stationaryjaws, between which and the nippers s the paper is held.

The frame is adjusted and secured in any desired position within therange of slots at by a set-screw, t, which enters the arms 0 0 throughcircumferential slots in the cylinderheads.

The devices for closing the nippers 8? at the same point in front of thefeeding-table H are a rectangular lever, a fulcrumed upon a pin in theside of the machine, said lever carrying a pin, 20, at its upper end,and the devices for operating said arm. The lower end of arm a is heldin contact with the face of a cam, 0 which is secured upon the face of aspurwheel, 0, by a flat spring, f The cog c is journaled upon a stud, (1secured to the frame of the machine, and is driven by a pinion, b uponthe shaft 0. The proportions of the cogs d? and 0 as shown, will bringthe pin to in the path of a notched cam, a, upon the shaft W and closethe nippers s at alternate revolutions of the cylinder B.

The devices to open the nippers and return the cam a in a position to beagain acted upon by pin 10, are a cam, j secured upon the opposite endof shaft 7" and a pin, k secured in a slot in frame A, said slot beingconcentric with shaft 0, in order that the pin may be readily adjustedto open the nippers by being in the path of cam j at whatever point inthe range of its adjustability the nipper-frame is secured. A spring,7L3, has one end secured to the cam 10 by means of a stud, g and theopposite end to apin, t projecting from arm 0 through a slot in thecylinder-head near the hub, to complete the motion of the nippers 8 oneway or the other after they have been turned past the dead-center bycams a and 7' pressing them upon the projections q, or holding them backbeneath the periphery of the cylinder, and retain the cams a and j inposition to engage pins w and k respectively.

In the periphery of the cylinder, nearly opposite the center of theslots n, is a longitudinal slot, m within which a folding blade, F,

is centrally journaled in boxes secured to the cylinder-heads.

One end of the blade-shaft projects beyond its box to receive a cam, (1This cam has a notch, 1, which engages a pin, 8 secured in the frame Aopposite the space between the rollers E E said rollers being arranged,one above the other, in proximity to the cylinder B, and parallel to it.

The inclined edges of the notch r of the forked cam, moving along thefixed pin 5 first cause the projection of the edge of the foldingblade lin a path about concentric to the surface of the upper roller, and thenits withdrawal in a path similarly concentric to the surface of thelower roller. By reason of this movement the. folding-blade can be verygradually projected and retracted, avoiding all danger of tearing thesheet.

The cam g also has a curved finger, t which engages the stud k as thecylinder revolves and returns the blade I and notch r in position forthe next operation.

A spring, 0 has one end attached to an arm, 10*, which is secured toblade 1 and projects beyond the cylinder-head and its opposite end to apin, 12 that projects from the head near the hub. This spring completesthe movements of the knife in either direction after its journals aredrawn past the center.

The cylinder B, with its attachments and devices for opening and closingthe nippers and operating the foldi n g-blade, in combination withthe'iolding-rollers E E, constitute that part of my invention whichproduces the first fold in the paper. Having described the constructionand arrangement of these parts separately considered, I will nowdescribe how they operate in combination to produce the desired result.

Preliminarily, it should be understood that the power should be appliedto shaft 0 in any well-known manner. Secured upon this shaft is aspur-wheel, D, which meshes into a pinion, F, upon the shaft of theupper foldingroller, E. The rollers E E are geared together by pinions aa upon the opposite ends of their shafts, and in order to avoid strainupon the sheet they are given a surface speed slightly less than that ofthe cylinder B, so as to slightly slacken the sheet as it is fed oiffrom the cylinder to the folding-rollers.

To feed the machine by hand a pile of papers is placed upon the table H,which may be dropped out of the way when not in use, and the sheets arefed over the guides o one at a time. As the cylinder revolves, the cam20, engaging the pin w, closes the nippers 8 upon the edge of the sheet,which is at that moment over the serrated projections q. The sheet isnow carried around by the cylinder, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig.5, until released by cam j engaging pin 70 and opening the nippers.Simultaneously with this operation the notch r in the cam g engages thepin 8 turning the blade 1 which delivers the sheet to thefolding-rollers E E, from which it emerges folded once. The engagementwith the pin k of the cams upon the ends of the nipper and knife shaftsturns the knife and nippers into position to act upon the next sheet.path of the cam a during the revolution of the cylindernext succeedingthe opening of the nippers, and the cylinder revolves without taking asheet, so as to give the operator the time of one idle revolution tofeed his sheet to the nippers.

It is evident the pin 8 could be controlled in the same Way as pin w, soas to operate the blade I at alternate revolutions, and when the machineis attached to the delivery end of "a printing-press to take and foldpapers from it the pin to may be made stationary, like pin 8 to closethe nippers at each revolution of the cylinder. The blade Z may also beworked alternately by providing a pin like to to operate the curvedfinger t To adjust the machine to fold diEerent-sized sheets theclamping-screws t in arms 0 0 are loosened and the nipper-frame movednearer to or farther from the blade 1 in its path of travel,'as smalleror larger sheets are to be folded, and the screws again tightened toclamp the frame in the desired position, and the pin k is adjusted inits slot to release the paper when the part to be folded has reached apoint oppositethe junction of rollers E E The part of the machine forforming a second fold is driven by a spur-wheel, j, upon shaft i, whichmeshes into pinion F upon the shaft of the folding-roller E.

The outer journal-box of shafti is slotted, so as to throw the wheel jin or out of gear with pinion F, to couple the second-fold mechanismwith, or uncouple it from, the mechanism for forming the first fold.

Tapes 11 run over the lower roller, E and over pulleys o, journaled onrods d at the opposite end oftheframe A. Their distance apart, to'adaptthem to deliver sheets of different widths, is adjustable on the rods d,said pulleys being held in their places on said rods by arms 6, that areapertured and attached to the stop-pieces f. 1

The arms 6 are provided with set-screws g, by which they are adjusted inany desired position. When the second-fold mechanism is uncoupled thesestops are turned back. Thus set, they guide the once-folded sheet overthe gearing at the rear end of the machine, to be received in anysuitable manner.

I will now-describe the mechanism for making the second fold.

Two rollers, G G, are journaled in frame A at right angles to rollers EE, one on each side of the middle of the frame. One is driven by amiter-wheel, h, secured to its shaft, which meshes into a miter-wheel,h, upon drivingshaft t', Upon the opposite ends of the rollers arepinions k, which mesh into each other and cause the rollers to rotatetogether.

J ournaled in standards l upon one side of the machine is a shaft, H.Secured to this The cam 0 holds the pin w out of the l shaft are arms m,which extend over the rollers G G and carry a folding-blade, n. A curvedarm, 0, also keyed to shaft H and extending downward, has a stud, 19,secured in a slot in its end. The pin 19 enters a grooved cam, I, whichcam is adjustably secured to the spur-wheel r. The spur-wheel r isjournaled upon a stud, q, and driven by pinion it upon the roller G.

The purpose of the slot in the lower end of arm 0 is to adjust the studp to regulate the depth the blade n should pass between the rollers.

As the sheet emerges from the rollers E E once folded, it is carried bytapes 1) against the stops f, when the blade n descends and carries itinto the bite of therollers G G, through which it emerges, completingthe second fold.

The devices for packing the folded paper will now be described.

In the lower part of the frame A there is an inclined board, a, forreceiving the papers as they are folded. At one side of the board athere is a rod, a, upon which rod there is a sleeve, 10, to which issecureda follower-board, a the board a being inclined with its toptoward the delivery side of the machine. Below and parallel with therollers G G there is a rod, 1), from which two curved guides, 0 extenddownward to the upper edge of the inside end of the board a, forpreventing the paper from escaping from the ends of the packerarms f Twocurved arms, d extend from the rod 1) toward the delivery side of themachine, to receive the papers from the rollers G G. One of the arms dis adjustable upon the rod 1) A rock-shaft, e, is journaled at thedelivery side of the machine, and carries two packerarms, f one of whichis adjustable, and both are capable of passing between and above thearms d and swinging down into a nearly-vertical position in front of thefollower-board a Upon the shaft 6 there is a short arm, h which isconnected by a rod, 1, with. a sliding cross-head, j, which is placed inguides at the rear end of the frame A, and is moved by an eccentric, k,on the inner side of the spur wheel 1'. The eccentric k is secured tothe back of the spur-wheel r by means of a screw. 1

As the paper emerges from the rollers G G it passes upon theholding-arms d and beneath the packer-arms f when the packerarms aremoved downward by the eccentric k carrying with them the folded sheet,which is nplaced against the follower to, their lower edges resting uponthe board a. As the papers accumulate, the packer-arms move the board aback, and as this is guided by the sleeve 10, sliding over the rod o,the board a will always slide without locking. As the papers accumulate,the packer-arms move the follower a and the folded papers back. Thefollower is guided by sleeve 20, sliding over rod 1 and as thepacker-arms press the papers back at a point opposite the rod 42, thefollower will slide without looking, and papers of different sizes maybereceived and packed without requiring any change to be made in eitherthe receiving-board a or follower a.

The cam I is formed in the face of a disk, J, and the disk has anarc-shaped slot, 8, through which a screw, t, passes to clamp the cam[to the spur-wheel r. The cam is adjusted by this means for the purposeof making the packerarms f and blade at time with each other. Thespur-wheel, with its eccentric and cam, forms a very compact andconvenient means of operating the packer-arms and folding-blade, anddispenses with the use of cam-shafts.

When the machine is attached to acylinder printing-press and feddirectly from it, the cylinder will be of a size to conform to the sizeand speed of the press-cylinder, and be so placed at the delivery endthat the nippers of the machine will clamp the edges of the sheets asthey are delivered one at a time alreadycut into proper sizes.

When sheets are delivered from the cylinder at every revolution it willbe necessary to change the relative proportions of the spurwheels D onthe shaft 0 and j on the shaft t in such manner as to cause the rollersG G, blade 02, and packer-arms f to double their speed to fold and packthe papers as fast as delivered from the rollers E E. To increase thenumber of folds it is only necessary to duplicate the parts hereinrepresented.

It is evident that by slightly changing the proportions of the notchedcam and varying the position of the notch W, the shaft of the roller Emay be made to perform the function of the pin 8 1. The combination,substantially as specified, of the circumferentially-slotted cylinder,the nippers, the nipper-shaft, and the adjustable bearings of thenipper-shaft pivoted on the cylinder-shaft.

2. The combination, substantially as specified, of a nipper carryingframe journaled within cylinder B upon shaft 0, and a clamping-screw,19, passing through a circumferential slot in the cylinder-head, toclamp the nipper-frame in any desired position, substantially as hereinshown and described.

3. The combination, substantially as specified, of thecircumferentiallyslotted cylinder, the nippers, and the nipper-frame barwithin the cylinder, provided with projections extending through thecylinder-slots to the exterior surface thereof.

4. A nipper-frame capable of circumferential adjustment within cylinderB, and having nipper-shaft projecting through a circumferential slot inone of the cylinder-heads, and carrying a cam, 7' in combination with astud, is, capable of adjustment in a slot in the frame A, said slotbeing concentric with the axis of shaft 0, so that pin 70 may be set toopen the nippers to release the sheet at any desired point.

5. In combination with the adjustable nipper-frame, having anipper-shaft, r loosely 'journaled in arms 0 0 as described, a spring,

it having one end attached to arm 0 and the opposite end to cam u uponshaft W, to complete the movements of the nippers in either directionafter they have been turned past the dead-center by the engagement ofcams u and j with pins w and 70 so as to close the nippers within thecylinder or bring them down upon the projections (1 to clamp and holdthe sheet.

6. The folding-blade 1 having a cam, g with a notch, 1' and curvedfinger t secured upon its journal-shaft, in combination with pins 3 andk and spring 0 said pins being secured in the frame in the path of thecams, substantially as described.

7. In afolding-inachine having alongitudinally slotted cylinder with afolding blade journaled therein, as described, the combination,substantially as specified, of the cam 9 secured upon the end of theblade-journal, and having notch r and curved finger 2?, pins 3 and 74 toturn the blade, with spring 0 to complete the motion of the blade ineither direction, and retain the cam in position to be again acted uponby the pins 8 and k respectively.

8. The combination, substantially as specified, of the rollers formaking the first fold, the folding-blade of the cylinder, the forked camon the axis of the folding'blade, and the fixed pin in the path of thefork of the cam to operate on both legs thereof, whereby thefolding-blade is projected and withdrawn in paths about concentric tothe surfaces of the folding-rolls.

9. In combination with cylinder B, carrying a folding-blade andadjustable nippers, with the ends of their shafts projecting beyond thecylinder-head, with actuation-cams 15 and j secured thereon, the pin kadjustable in a slot in the frame A, the said slot being concentric withthe axis of the cylinder-shaft, so that at whatever point the pin k maybe adjusted it will be in the path of both cams, substantially asdescribed.

10. In a folding-machine, the combination of tape-pulleys c 0,adjustable upon rod d, for deliveringpapers of difl'erent widths, andadjustable stops 0 f g, said stops being also adapted, when turned back,to serve as guides for delivering the papers, when folded once, over thegearing at the rear end of the machine.

11. The oscillating packer-armsf', the paper-holding arms d, and theguides c, in combination, substantially as herein shown and described.

12. In combination, the inclined board u, inclined follower apacker-arms f holdingarms d, and guides c ,said board and follower beingcapable of receiving papers of difierent sizes without adjustment,substantially as described.

L. O. BUFFINGTON. Witnesses:

R. H. HAMMOND, O. A. PARTRIDGE.

